Africa is strengthening the professional expertise behind its expanding trade and investment ecosystem as the African Export-Import Bank and ZEP-RE sign a new partnership focused on building skills in trade, insurance, reinsurance, risk management and trade facilitation.
The memorandum of understanding brings together Afreximbank Academy, known as AFRACAD, and ZEP-RE Academy to develop learning, research and knowledge programs designed for professionals, institutions and market participants across African economies.
The partnership combines Afreximbank’s experience in African trade and trade finance with ZEP-RE’s expertise in insurance, reinsurance and risk management. The goal is to build practical capabilities that can help African institutions manage increasingly sophisticated trade and investment activities.
Under the three-year agreement, the two academies will collaborate across three main areas. The first will focus on developing digital learning resources, including e-learning courses, practical toolkits and African case studies. A joint “content factory” will identify priority topics and transform them into reusable learning materials that can be distributed through AFRACAD’s digital platform and ZEP-RE Academy’s learning management system.
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The partnership will also create professional and executive development programs covering areas such as risk and reinsurance, trade guarantees, trade facilitation, financial infrastructure and market development. Training could include short courses, executive masterclasses, certification programs and other learning formats delivered in person, online or through blended programs.
A third area will focus on research and knowledge creation. Afreximbank and ZEP-RE plan to organize joint studies, webinars, policy discussions and industry forums that bring together regulators, financial professionals, development partners and private-sector leaders to examine emerging challenges and identify practical solutions.
For Africa’s growing trade ambitions, developing local expertise is increasingly important. Strong financial infrastructure and trade corridors require professionals who understand how to structure transactions, manage risks, provide guarantees and support businesses operating across multiple markets.
Stephen Kauma, Group Managing Director for Human Resources at Afreximbank, said expanding trade and investment requires not only financial resources and infrastructure but also knowledge, skills and institutional capacity. He said the partnership would combine expertise in trade finance, insurance, reinsurance and risk management to create scalable learning solutions focused on African markets.
Jephita Gwatipedza, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer at ZEP-RE, said sustainable trade expansion depends on institutions being able to understand, price and manage the risks associated with international commerce.
The new agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two institutions. In 2025, Afreximbank and ZEP-RE launched the Trans-Africa Bond Alliance, or TABA, to strengthen insurance capacity, facilitate cross-border trade and support the movement of goods and investment across African markets.
Since beginning operations in June 2025, TABA has supported approximately US$185 million in bonds during 2025 and US$280 million during the first quarter of 2026, with risks originating from 24 cedents across five countries.
TABA also supports Afreximbank’s African Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme and the broader African Continental Free Trade Area trade-facilitation agenda. The initiative promotes a more harmonized and technology-enabled approach to transit guarantees, helping address some of the financial requirements associated with moving goods across African borders.
The wider transit guarantee scheme is backed by US$1 billion in guarantee limits, including a US$300 million facility being implemented with ZEP-RE in the COMESA region. The initiative aims to reduce reliance on multiple national transit bonds, free up working capital tied to collateral and make cross-border trade more predictable.
The latest agreement extends that collaboration from financial instruments into professional development and institutional knowledge. By investing in African expertise alongside trade and financial infrastructure, Afreximbank and ZEP-RE are creating another layer of support for businesses and institutions participating in the continent’s increasingly integrated markets.
The three-year partnership is expected to contribute to a broader pool of African professionals equipped to address complex challenges at the intersection of trade, finance, insurance and risk, supporting regional integration and long-term economic development.